Nationals Announcement on Hold

The press conference expected Tuesday announcing the move of
Major League Lacrosse’s Toronto Nationals to Hamilton,
Ontario, has been postponed for “about two weeks,”
according to lead negotiator Lewis Staats, who is working on behalf
of Nationals owner Curt Styres.

Staats said he is acting on the advice of lawyers and that there
are “I's to dot and T’s to cross” in regards to
the Nationals playing games at McMaster University in Hamilton,
about an hour drive southwest of Toronto.

Staats, who was asked by Styres to take the lead on negotiations in
November, didn’t say specifically what is holding the deal
up. He said Friday a draft lease to play at Ron Joyce Stadium , a
6,000-capacity facility, had been approved by the Nationals and
MLL, and a deal was close to final.

Tuesday’s press conference was also expected to announce that
Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc., would handle
the Nationals' marketing and promotions.

A move to Hamilton would entail Styres assuming 100 percent
ownership of the club. He was a part owner last year.

Styres, from Ohsweken, Ontario, on the Six Nations of the Grand
River Reserve, also owns the Rochester Knighthawks of the National
Lacrosse League and Rochester Americans of the American Hockey
League, both of which Staats is president.

by Corey McLaughlin | Lacrosse Magazine Online
Staff The Toronto Nationals of Major League Lacrosse will
relocate to Hamilton, Ontario, and play the 2011 season at McMaster
University, according to lead negotiator Lewis Staats. A press
conference is expected to be held Tuesday announcing the move to
Hamilton, Staats said.

Since November, Staats has handled negotiations of a possible
team relocation on behalf of Nationals owner Curt Styres. Staats is
the president of the National Lacrosse League's Rochester
Knighthawks, also owned by Styres. He said Friday the Nationals
were near finalizing an agreement to play at Ron Joyce Stadium, a
6,000-capacity facility. He was also near an agreement with
Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc. to manage the
Nationals' marketing and promotions.

A move to Hamilton, Staats said, would also entail Styres assuming
100 percent ownership of the club. Team president Stu Brown will
remain in his position.

The team is still without a coach after Dave Huntley’s
resignation, and there is no word on a replacement. Jody Gage was
named the team’s general manager in December. The MLL regular
season begins in May.

The Nationals played last season at Toronto’s Lamport
Stadium, a 9,600-seat venue, and had its inaugural season at BMO
Field, a 20,000-seat stadium that is also home to MLS’s
Toronto FC.
The team averaged 3,846 fans per game in 2009 at BMO Field and
averaged 3,079 last season at Lamport, finishing fifth in league
attendance each year.

Staats said a move to Hamilton, located about an hour drive
southwest of Toronto, makes sense in part because there is less
traffic in the area, which will hopefully encourage more people to
attend games.

“My position, being involved in business in southern
Ontario, is that a lot of the decision making-process about whether
people go and watch a sports event is dictated a lot by
traffic,” Staats said.

On Thursday, Styres told LMO that he wouldn’t mind
returning to BMO Field in Toronto, but Staats said although
it’s a great facility, McMaster University is a better fit
for the team. Ron Joyce Stadium is home to the university’s
football team, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football
League use the stadium for training camp.

Staats is not officially on the Nationals staff, but could be in
the future, he said.

Nationals Still Homeless; Coach Resigns

The status of the Toronto Nationals' possible move to Hamilton,
Ontario, remained unclear Thursday, despite reports that a deal
would be done by the end of this week.

Nationals owner Curt Styres said Thursday that "nothing is
signed in either place," meaning an agreement to play in a venue in
either Hamilton or Toronto.

The Nationals played last season at Lamport Stadium in Toronto
following its inaugural season at BMO Field, a 20,000-seat stadium
that is also home to MLS's Toronto FC -- and a place Styres said
Thursday he wouldn't mind returning to.

Last week The Hamilton Spectator reported that
Lewis Staats, president of the NLL's Rochester Knighthawks -- which
Styres also owns -- had taken the lead in negotiations to
potentially play at McMaster University in Hamilton, which is about
an hour drive southwest of Toronto. The goal was to have a deal by
Jan. 15, Staats told the newspaper.

Styres said Thursday that the Nationals are still trying to
reach a deal this week, but "as we're sitting here, nothing's
done."

In other Nats news, the resignation of head coach Dave Huntley
was announced this week. Huntley, who coached the team in each of
its two seasons of existence and to a league championship in 2009,
said he decided to step down at the end of the 2010 season.

A replacement hasn't been named. Clancy Almas, Jason Johnson and
Paul Stewart were assistants to Huntley last season.

"Nobody has formally put in an application," Styres said.
"Huntley resigned, and we want somebody who is going to make a
positive impact on the team. We'd like to be competitive."

The MLL collegiate draft is set for Jan. 21, one week from
Friday. Training camps start in April, with the season beginning in
May.

The Nationals averaged 3,846 fans per game in 2009 at BMO Field.
They averaged 3,079 last season at Lamport, a 9,600-seat venue, and
finished with a 3-9 record.